Europe: Burren National Park, Ireland

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Overview of Location:

The Burren National Park can be found in the southeastern corner of Burren, which is a region in County Clare, Ireland. It is approximately six square miles in size. The land was bought by the government for the purpose of nature preservation, with the public having access to view and enjoy the preservation. The park contains many different habitats that can be found in Ireland, and more specifically, in Burren. The word “Burren” has Irish origins and means to be a rocky place. This is a fitting name, considering that much of the land has little soil cover and is made up of many different kinds of rocks, specifically limestone. Despite the lack of soil though, there are still many nutrient rich herbs and floral species that inhabit the land. [11]

Temperature:

The area that Burren National Park is in registers an annual high 55, annual low 45, annual average 50. In the nearby city of Galway, July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 16 degrees Celsius (60 degrees Fahrenheit) and the coldest month is February with an average temperature of 6 degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit). In Galway, the wettest month is October with an average of 96 mm (3.8 inches) of rainfall. The driest month is both May and July with an average of 53 mm (2.1 inches) of rainfall.

Weather:

Burren's climate here is mainly influenced by its close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a rather warm climate, with it’s average rainfall being 59 inches a year. [1] The most rainfall is seen during September, October, November, December, and January, with October having the heaviest rainfall of them all. The driest month is in April. There are an average of 5 inches of rain in October, and an average of 2.5 inches of rain in April. [2] During the months with the heaviest rain, on average seventeen to eighteen days out of the month have some form of precipitation. During the months with the lowest amounts of rain, there are about eleven to twelve days of the month that have some form of precipitation. [3]

Burren National Park is a rainy area with its wettest month being October. In October, the average rainfall between the years 2000 and 2012 was 4.7 inches and an average of 25 days during the month of October in which it did rain. Also between the years 2000 and 2012, May was recorded the driest month with an average of 23 days of rainfall within the month and an average of 2.5 inches of rainfall. [4]

The average humidity throughout the year ranges from seventy percent to ninety percent. The highest humidity during the year is in December and January, with humidity reaching past ninety percent. The lowest humidity is in May, with it reaching downwards towards seventy percent humidity. The rest of the year stays relatively the same at about eighty percent humidity. [5]

Fog is most common in Ireland during August and through November. In August and September, fog most often occurs during nighttime, dawn, and in low lying areas. This is because the humid air is exposed to rapid cooling nighttime air, which thus creates a blanket of fog. In October and November, the fog forms mostly at night, but unlike the fog found earlier in the year, this fog can take a while to dissipate in the morning. The fog during this time of year is formed due to a combination of the westerly winds bringing in warm air from the seas and cold-frontal showers. [6]

In Ireland, the wind blows from the south and west most often. Winds from the north and northeast rarely occur. The southerly and southeasterly winds are strongest and occur most often in December, whereas westerly winds occur most often during July. This creates a cold winter and a mild summer. The predominant wind direction comes from the West. [8]

[7]

The tropical maritime air mass effects Ireland. This air mass brings lots of fog, low cloud, and drizzle. Damp conditions are seen throughout summer and winter. The tropical maritime air mass originates from the subtropical Atlantic Ocean as a hot, moist air mass. As it travels over cooler water to Ireland, its temperature decreases significantly. [9]

The severe weather that affects this location are gale force winds and widespread flooding caused by the high degree of rainfall throughout Ireland, this weather affects our location year round. These patterns are indicative of Ireland’s climate and location in the Northern Atlantic. The Marine West Coast climate is characterized by high annual precipitation causing flooding. Ireland is also subject to the Polar Easterlies which bring in cold air from the polar latitudes which explain the cool temperatures year round. [10]

Climate:

Burren has a Marine West Coast Climate. The characteristics of this climate are cool summers, abundant year-round precipitation, close proximity to the ocean, lacks a dry season, and little temperature variation over the year with mean temperatures below freezing in the winter months.

Biogeography:

Various bird species in Ireland change their migration patterns according to the weather in Ireland. Many plants found in Ireland thrive in wet conditions. Some of these plant species include the thrift, water lobelia, kerry lily, sea campion, meadow vetchling, and sundew plant. Some common animal species found in Ireland are the gray seals because they feed from the Atlantic Ocean and otters or river dogs which are found in shallow, swampy waters and off of rocky coasts, which are plentiful in Ireland.

The topography of Burren National Park is called Karst topography which is known for having landscapes dominated by limestone pavement which covers much of the ground causing plants and animals to be less diffused into the area due to lack of open grassland. The weather along with the topography have influenced certains invasive species to grow in Burren such as the Mountain Avens which grows in between the cracks of limestone pavement.

Human activity is the major influence besides climate on the vegetation and wildlife in the Burren National Park. Early removal of the natural woodland induced soil erosion, enlarging the exposure of the underlying limestone. Most of the area has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directive.The Burren National Park may look rugged, but it is also a fragile place and is always under threat from increased human activity. The limestone pavement, flora and built heritage are the resources on which tourism in The Burren area thrives. Respecting and conserving these resources is extremely important. There is a Burren Code which allows visitors to help protect the limestone pavement, plants and animals.

Climate change is currently the biggest environmental threat in the Burren National Park area. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland has seen an average temperature increase of just under 1ºC over the last century. Since 1993, average sea level has risen around Ireland by just over 3 cm per decade. The rising temperatures and sea levels are causing a negative impact on the surrounding marine environment. If this continues, a massive amount of coastal lands surrounding Ireland could be submerged.

Rock Types and Geological History:

Burren national park is covered by limestone, sandstones, siltstones, and shales. Limestone formed 350 million years ago when sea covered the area, condensing sediment into limestone rock. Glaciation during the last Ice Age and high levels of seawater covering the park millions of years ago caused large amounts of clay, corals, and fossils to be deposited in the area and compressed into the landscape, changing the soil composition and covering much of the park in limestone steppes.

Internal Process of Landforms:

Ireland was once separated millions of years ago, once Ireland was connected plate tectonics did not play a significant role in the development of its landforms or landscape. The Burren National park’s landforms were created by the deposition of sediments when an ocean covered Ireland. Glaciers also have played a role in Burren's development, during the last glacial period the landscape was being carved out by giant glaciers.

Plate Boundaries:

Our location is located on the Eurasian Plate but not near any plate boundaries. Burrens geology and landforms have not been affected by plate tectonics. Burren is a Glacio-Karst landscape it was formed by giant glaciers millions of years ago. The geology of Burren is mostly sedimentary rock that was formed when Burren was covered by an ocean.

Weathering and Erosion:

Much of Burren National Park has been weathered and eroded over million of years, both in part by glacial advances and normal weathering processes. Contrary to how it was millions of years ago, most of the park is barely above sea level now. Because of the glacial advances that eroded the park, rivers ended up forming. Over time, the rivers then started eroding the hale and sandstone on the mountains, which ended up exposing the limestone. Once the limestone was exposed, rainwater started to erode and dissolve that rock away. Though not all of the limestone and shale in Burren National Park is eroded away, it is thought that eventually, if the rest of the area is continuously exposed to rainwater, the rock will dissolve and develop into grikes and clints, which are cracks and isolated rocks.

Water Impact:

Burren National Park was once completely covered by glaciers during the ice age and ice sheets have flattened the lands throughout Ireland. Because of our location on the western coast of Ireland, Burren National Park has been affected by rising sea levels due to melting sea ice which created minor flooding in low-lying land areas throughout the park and have also created multiple bodies of waters, such as lakes. Precipitation also fills lakes in the low-lying areas of the park, supplying a water source for the plants and animals that reside in the park. The Burren National Park is not located in a watershed because of its close proximity to the western coast of Ireland.

Glacial Impact:

During the last Ice Age Ireland was completely covered in glaciers and ice sheets, flattening out the landscapes and forming lakes, rivers, streams, etc. throughout ireland. Glaciers changed the landscape of the Burren to a glacio-Karst landscape, shaped the small hills, and left large amounts of clay deposits around the area. One of the main features of a glacio-Karst landscape are large limestone boulders jutting out of the landscape formed from glaciation.

Other Processes:

Glaciation is responsible for shaping the landforms in the Burren National Park. During the Ice Age, ice sheets covered a good portion of the country and flattened much of the land. Once the ice sheets melted, eskers or gravel and sediment that is deposited from meltwater were found underneath where the glaciers had been that made up the rocky and sometimes fertile lands.